Are all religions cults? - Think Atheist2015-03-31T20:50:32Zhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/forum/topics/are-all-religions-cults?xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks for findintag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-21:1982180:Comment:6287082011-04-21T21:02:25.834ZLovelyGirlhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/LovelyGirl
Thanks for findin
Thanks for findin Thanks. That link (or a link)…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-21:1982180:Comment:6287062011-04-21T20:54:45.688ZJohn Siqueiroshttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/JohnSiqueiros
Thanks. That link (or a link) is here: <a href="http://www.mycultlife.com/examining-cult-culture-on-wunc/" target="_blank">http://www.mycultlife.com/examining-cult-culture-on-wunc/</a><br />
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And the mp3 audio is at <a href="http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Examining_Cult_Culture.mp3" target="_blank">http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Examining_Cult_Culture.mp3</a><br />
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It made for interesting listening over the lunch hour.
Thanks. That link (or a link) is here: <a href="http://www.mycultlife.com/examining-cult-culture-on-wunc/" target="_blank">http://www.mycultlife.com/examining-cult-culture-on-wunc/</a><br />
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And the mp3 audio is at <a href="http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Examining_Cult_Culture.mp3" target="_blank">http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Examining_Cult_Culture.mp3</a><br />
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It made for interesting listening over the lunch hour. Cults and religions are indee…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-21:1982180:Comment:6278742011-04-21T12:46:00.864ZDonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Don773
Cults and religions are indeed very similar, so similar, in fact, that I think it's fair to say (as Ross Taylor says in his letter, above) that they may be considered identical. In their methods of enforcing allegiance, some lesser cults may seem more overtly extreme than others, but what distinguishes a cult from a religion (if anything does) is not whether its leaders resort to abuse to keep its members in line. Certainly a cult like Catholicism that terrifies its believers with lavishly…
Cults and religions are indeed very similar, so similar, in fact, that I think it's fair to say (as Ross Taylor says in his letter, above) that they may be considered identical. In their methods of enforcing allegiance, some lesser cults may seem more overtly extreme than others, but what distinguishes a cult from a religion (if anything does) is not whether its leaders resort to abuse to keep its members in line. Certainly a cult like Catholicism that terrifies its believers with lavishly detailed threats of eternal agony should they commit "grave" sins, like fornication, is resorting to profound abuse to enforce its arbitrary edicts. Also, I recently did a radio…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-21:1982180:Comment:6275392011-04-21T05:12:09.827ZLovelyGirlhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/LovelyGirl
Also, I recently did a radio interview with some religious studies professors. I'm on my phone so I don't have the interview link but if you Google "examining cult culture" on north Carolina radio, The State of Things with Frank Stasio, that's it. It's all about cults.
Also, I recently did a radio interview with some religious studies professors. I'm on my phone so I don't have the interview link but if you Google "examining cult culture" on north Carolina radio, The State of Things with Frank Stasio, that's it. It's all about cults. I was in a cult and although…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-21:1982180:Comment:6275322011-04-21T05:08:52.175ZLovelyGirlhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/LovelyGirl
I was in a cult and although I think most religions are faulty and oppressive in philosophy, they aren't always physically abusive or emotionally abusive. In religion you have voluntary brainwashing. In cults you have an authoritarian leader who enforces his power using mind control and abusive behavior. Sometimes members are physically harmed in cults if they disobey. Sleep deprivation, isolation from family, friends and outsiders are encouraged and sometimes enforced in cults.<br />
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I do agree…
I was in a cult and although I think most religions are faulty and oppressive in philosophy, they aren't always physically abusive or emotionally abusive. In religion you have voluntary brainwashing. In cults you have an authoritarian leader who enforces his power using mind control and abusive behavior. Sometimes members are physically harmed in cults if they disobey. Sleep deprivation, isolation from family, friends and outsiders are encouraged and sometimes enforced in cults.<br />
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I do agree that from the outside they both look very similar. Those of you who have stepped inside a church or temple may know its not always as directly harmful and is easier to leave.<br />
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I would agree that fundamentalism, esp Christian is a destructive, harmful belief system that could be considered a cult. Yes, Reg, they all start out…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-20:1982180:Comment:6272392011-04-20T23:26:03.459ZDonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Don773
Yes, Reg, they all start out as cults, and yet, even after decades and centuries, after they have become accepted because they have somehow managed to attract generations of adherents, in the standard--and primary--definition of the word, they are <em>still cults</em>. The have become encysted in the culture, that's all.<br/>
Yes, Reg, they all start out as cults, and yet, even after decades and centuries, after they have become accepted because they have somehow managed to attract generations of adherents, in the standard--and primary--definition of the word, they are <em>still cults</em>. The have become encysted in the culture, that's all.<br/> All religions start off as cu…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-20:1982180:Comment:6272292011-04-20T23:13:50.363ZReg The Fronkey Farmerhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/RegPerry
All religions start off as cults. It is only when they gather enough followers that they become accepted as mainstream. That is they become normalised in society’s viewpoint. They are no longer deemed to be fundamentalists.
All religions start off as cults. It is only when they gather enough followers that they become accepted as mainstream. That is they become normalised in society’s viewpoint. They are no longer deemed to be fundamentalists. It's true enough that nowaday…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-20:1982180:Comment:6272082011-04-20T22:35:33.272ZDonhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Don773
<p>It's true enough that nowadays the use of the word "cult" to refer to longstanding mainstream religions (as opposed to Scientology, say) seems to many ears a denigration or an insult---and that says something about how the connotations of the word have evolved. </p>
<p>But, in fact, the enduring, primary definition of "cult" (from the redoubtable <em>Webster's Third Unabridged</em>) is: "(1) religious practice; worship (2) a system of beliefs and ritual connected with the worship of a deity,…</p>
<p>It's true enough that nowadays the use of the word "cult" to refer to longstanding mainstream religions (as opposed to Scientology, say) seems to many ears a denigration or an insult---and that says something about how the connotations of the word have evolved. </p>
<p>But, in fact, the enduring, primary definition of "cult" (from the redoubtable <em>Webster's Third Unabridged</em>) is: "(1) religious practice; worship (2) a system of beliefs and ritual connected with the worship of a deity, a spirit, or a group of deities or spirits." With this definition in mind, it seems plain that, to an objective observer, ALL religions are properly described as <em>cults</em>.</p> It depends. The word cult ori…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-20:1982180:Comment:6271652011-04-20T21:48:31.616ZLindseyhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/LindseyAliceStock
<p>It depends. The word cult originally just meant a system of ritual practices, its only more recently that it came to be associated with negative practices like brain-washing and small authoritarian groups with odd beliefs. In Sociology, the term cult is usually used to describe any group with new religious beliefs, so under that definition all religions started off as cults and then grew to be larger and more socially accepted. A lot of religious people use it as a slur against any…</p>
<p>It depends. The word cult originally just meant a system of ritual practices, its only more recently that it came to be associated with negative practices like brain-washing and small authoritarian groups with odd beliefs. In Sociology, the term cult is usually used to describe any group with new religious beliefs, so under that definition all religions started off as cults and then grew to be larger and more socially accepted. A lot of religious people use it as a slur against any religion that is too different from their own, like when christian fundamentalists call Islam or neo-paganism cults. I think most people nowadays use the word cult in reference to fringe groups, like Scientology, the FLDS, and groups like the Heaven's-Gate cult. Some people I've heard say that cults are any group that brain-wash and condition people to control them, but under that definition I think you could make the argument that all religions are cults since they all involve indoctrination to some extent. Just watch "Jesus Camp".</p> I think article that Don pres…tag:www.thinkatheist.com,2011-04-20:1982180:Comment:6271362011-04-20T21:12:32.707ZTaylorhttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/Taylor315
I think article that Don presents hit the nail right on the head. All religions start as cults and are hated because they are new, but after hundreds of years they gain respect. The thing about Scientology is that there are alot of shady things about it. You have to pay large amounts of money to go up the ranks, I don't know any other religion that requires you to pay to be apart of it, and the story sounds very science fiction like, and we all know the Ron L. Hubbard is a science fiction…
I think article that Don presents hit the nail right on the head. All religions start as cults and are hated because they are new, but after hundreds of years they gain respect. The thing about Scientology is that there are alot of shady things about it. You have to pay large amounts of money to go up the ranks, I don't know any other religion that requires you to pay to be apart of it, and the story sounds very science fiction like, and we all know the Ron L. Hubbard is a science fiction writer.<br/>
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I don't like any religion, but I really don't like Scientology, they seem to want to take over the world. Most religions do, like Islam, but Islam says they want to conquer the world, but everybody else in the world just says whatever, because we all know that a bunch 3rd world countries can't conquer the world, but the difference is that they don't say it but it seems like as they a secretly trying to do so.<br/>
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With all that said, religion is no good. But you guys probably already knew that.